Colombians dominated web searches for Miami homes in December

Potential buyers from Colombia led a ranking of foreign nationals searching for South Florida homes online in December.

The list of residents of top countries visiting the Miami Association of Realtors’ website included Venezuelans at No. 2 with 8.1 percent of international searches and Argentinians with 7.1 percent. Colombians, who are experiencing a period of political instability in their home country, represented 10.5 percent of foreign web searches, according to a Realtors report.

Last year, Colombian and Canadian home buyers made the third-most international home purchases in South Florida at 9 percent. Foreign investors spent $7.1 billion on South Florida homes in 2017, up nearly 15 percent from the previous year’s $6.2 billion. Miami is a top U.S. destination for foreign investors: a recent report found that eight of 10 properties sold above $1 million are owned by someone outside of the country.

Canadians were again hungry for South Florida homes with the fourth biggest share of foreign interest in December, followed by Brazil and Peru.